


The Chosen

by Vanm_Phrye



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2013-07-16
Packaged: 2017-12-15 08:17:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanm_Phrye/pseuds/Vanm_Phrye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world is filled with people, people who go about day by day, hour by hour, living their lives. Lives that are filled with moments. Moments filled with happiness, joy and peace. Moments filled with hate, bitterness, and sorrow. There are moments in time where lives are changed forever; happy moments that are suddenly twisted and contorted until the small amount happiness that once resided within the moment have been brutally replaced with hurt, despair, and anger. </p><p>Was posted on fanfiction.net but the site is being annoying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moments

**Chapter 1** ‘Moments’

The world is filled with people, people who go about day by day, hour by hour, living their lives. Lives that are filled with moments. Moments filled with happiness, joy and peace. Moments filled with hate, bitterness, and sorrow. There are moments in time where lives are changed forever; happy moments that are suddenly twisted and contorted until the small amount happiness that once resided within the moment have been brutally replaced with hurt, despair, and anger. Most of these moments are based on arguments, misspoken words, and short tempers; yet there are some moments that are twisted and turned by forces that are out of the control of the moment’s participants. Such moments happen with increasing frequency as the world is pushed further and further in the brink of multicultural war. One such moment happened on July 31st at 7 in the evening. This evening started out as any other evening for two different families, each woman in the families are pregnant, and have both gone into labor the night before. For twenty hours these women felt the pains of their children moving closer to life outside of the womb, but with little success. At 6:30 on the evening of the 31st, on of these women began the last stages of her labor, fifteen minuets later the other woman followed. 7 o’clock in the evening on July 31st two piercing cries could be heard in the homes of these two women. A boy and a girl had been born on the same day, of the same month at the same time of day. These seemingly harmless similarities have long lasting consequences. Two people will bridge the gap between good and evil, they will find comfort within each other when all else seems to be void of hope. They will end the war; they will be the ones that the world turns to when all other paths have crumbed to nothing. Their lives will be filled with moments where they will have to prove their strength and courage or fall into a pit of despair. There are individuals whom wish to know what their future holds, and then there are some who wish that they never found out the truth. Moments of weakness lead to moments of choice all based on a moment of wanting the truth. This is the story of their moments.

 

~*~

 

 

Yet a time shall come

 

She of life shall be born

 

She of darkness shall rise

 

She whom brings both life and death

 

She shall be killed yet she shall live

 

From the depths of hell

 

From the light of Heaven

 

Her fate is unclear

 

But her destiny is bright

 

Bring her to him

 

Or to he she shall come

 

Ether way she shall Live

~*~

 

 

July 31st 6:59 pm-Godrick’s Hollow

            “Push dear! Just a little bit further, I can see the top of the head. James, the babe’s got your hair…” the midwife trying to talk an exhausted Lily through the last few moments of her extended labor.

            “Well,” James replied from his station at his wife’s side. “I hope that it’s a boy. No girl should have my mop.”

            Lily had been paying attention only half way, after twenty hours of painful labor all she wanted was to have her child in her arms and to sleep until the weariness and pain melted away.

            “Come on dear! Just one more!” James encouraged his tried wife. With one more half-hearted push, Lily collapsed at the sound of her babe’s first cry.

            “A little boy!” The midwife cried happily, cleaning of the newborn. She then wrapped the infant in a little blue blanket and handed him off to his father’s awaiting arms. Once the young boy was safely in James’s arms, the midwife turned to her assistant to fill out the birth certificate and the magic registration card.

            “Born July 31st at 7 o’clock in the evening to Lord James Daniel Potter; full-blood, and Lily Emma Potter nee Evans; Muggle-born. Weight-” The midwife paused and pointed her wand at the baby, who was now happily feeding, to find the weight, length and the circumference of the babe’s head in order to finish filling out the forms. “Weight,” she repeated, “3.5 kilograms, one half meters long, and 0.3 meters in circumference.”

            The midwife turned back to the new family and smiled at the sight before her; Lily was almost asleep, holding her son and leaning against her husband who had seated himself next to his wife and son.

            “Lily? James? I need a name.”

            The two look at each other as if they were silently communicating, then coming to a decision about their son’s name.

            James answered, “Harry James Potter.” The midwife nodded to James and then to her assistant to write the name down. Once the birth certificate had been completed, the midwife sent the document to the Ministry of Magic Department of Births and Magic

Registration via one of the Potter’s family owls. The next document was registering Harry’s unique magical signature. Once the documents were completed, the midwife and assistance exited the room to allow the new family to continue to bond.

 _This moment they will remember forever._ The midwife thought with a happy smile, which disappeared as she watched a dark eagle owl fly towards the Potter residence.

~*~

 

            “Holy SHIT!” Screamed Bellatrix, her brow glistened with sweat. “Get this kid OUT OF ME!” The midwife, who was helping the laboring Bellatrix, tried to calm the screaming woman but to no avail. The woman would not calm down until her soon-to-be-born-child was out of her body.

            _6:50 pm. hopefully this kid will make an appearance soon. I’m not sure if I can handle her screaming anymore._ The midwife’s unpleasant thoughts filtered through her head as she tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to coach a tired, aggravated Bellatrix through the last few moments of her long labor.

            “I can see the head miss. One more push and your beautiful child should be here!”

            “I don’t give a DAMN if the child has two _fucking_ heads! Just get the little beast out of ME! _NOW_!” With Bellatrix’s last explosive out-burst, the child came into the world.

            “It’s a girl,” The midwife said wearily, showing the child to the hooded woman in the corner of the birthing room. The woman exited the room, and the midwife heard hurried, whispered voices in the hall. She knew that she did not have long until the child’s father arrived to inspect the child, she must work quickly to fill out the necessary documents to insure that her magic would not be bond by the Ministry of Magic. She set the child carefully into the basinet that had been set up for the child, and then she began to fill out the documents she had pulled in font of her.

            _July 31 st at 7 o’clock in the evening to Bellatrix Lestrange- Full blood. Weight 3.9 kilograms, 0 .19 meters long, and 0.14 meters in circumference. Name (undecided)._

            The midwife sent the birth certificate off quickly, leavening the name blank so that the child could not be traced, then went to the child to record her magic signature. When her magical signature connected with the parchment a blue light emanated from the center of the parchment. Words written in the same shad of blue appeared at the bottom of the parchment.

            _It has come to the attention of the Department of Birth and Magic Registration that two children have been born at 7 o’clock on the evening of July 31 st. These births have invoked the power of Merlin’s Gift. By this ancient spell the two children must be united within a week of their births. The other child was born to James Daniel Potter and his wife Lily Emma Potter, he was named Harry James Potter._

            The midwife was unable to move from the shock of this development, her master was not going to like this, not at all. The child’s father swept into the room, looking for his heir. The midwife pointed at the basinet in an answer to his to his unasked question.

            “It is a girl.”

            “Yes. I am aware. What did you put down as her name?”

            “I haven’t so that she can not be traced. The name shall be your choice, sir. Sir…there is…um…a…development…of sorts….”

            “What do you mean?” The man hissed at the frightened women.

             “Well…sir…there was another child born tonight…a male child…”

            “So? What does this other child have to do with my daughter?”

            “He was born at 7 pm, the same time as your daughter…”

            The man was silent for a moment; digesting the information he had just been given. His daughter was now part of an ancient piece of magic that Merlin himself had created. It was nearly impossible for such a piece of magic to be enacted, and yet here they were, directly in the middle of it.

            “You mean to tell me that my daughter-my HEIR- is now betrothed to some unworthy boy?” He screamed at the young woman.

            “I’m not sure about him being unworthy, sir, but yes she is.”

            “Who is the boy?”

            This was the one question that the midwife did not want to be around to witness his reaction, let along be the one to deliver the news to the now angry father.

            “Harry James Potter,” the midwife answered softly looking down to avoid the furious eyes of her master.

            The room was silent except for the small noises from the bassinet, not even Bellatrix, who had been laying on the bed moaning in pain for the first twenty minuets of her daughters life, was making a sound. Everyone was waiting for the nearly guaranteed out burst of anger from the father.

            “Send for the boy. I will not have my heir living away from me,” the man turned from the midwife and looked upon his child for the first time. She had his dark black hair, pale complexion but her eyes where the same shade of blue that the Black family was known for.  He reached out to run his fingers through her hair, suddenly missing his own which had fallen out as he forced his body through a drastic metamorphous. His daughter resembled his former self more than she will even resemble his newer, harsher appearance. Yet, there was something different about the shape of her eyes, the color of her hair, and the slenderness of her nose that did not quite match that of himself or the girl’s mother, but that was soon forgotten as he was interrupted from his musings.

            “My Lord,” a man said from behind the new father. “The Potters have been informed and will be ready for pick up in one hour’s time.”

            “Very well Malfoy. Return to your manor, I do not want you seen there.”

            “Yes my Lord, you are very kind.”

            Malfoy rose and walked out of the room. While he had been talking, Bellatrix and the midwife had left the room, leaving the new father with his child. He looked down at the girl, letting a small smile play on his lips, the first one his face had warn in many a summer. He had to name the girl before too long, defiantly before the Potters arrived with their son.

            “Emillie.” He said slowly, “Emillie Rennea Riddle. Yes, that will do. My little Dark Princess.”

~*~

            The room had fallen silent, two letters had just arrived. One from the Ministry informing the new family of their son’s betrothed. The other had the Snape family seal on the parchment and had yet to be read. Sirius, getting fed up with his friends lack of movement to open the letter, snatched the offensive object out of James’s hand and ripped it open.

            “Let’s see what that slim ball has to say.” Sirius was feeling slightly off balance, his godson was betrothed to some newborn; they did not have a name, apparently there was not one provided on the girl’s birth certificate. Sirius tore the letter from its enclosure and shook out the folded parchment.

            Potters-

By this time you must have learned that your son is betrothed. Bellatrix Lestrange is the mother of your son’s betrothed. We shall be at your home within the hour to collect you and your son. Have your bags packed. You will be allowed to return to your home if you wish, but your son will be staying with us. We can offer much better protection for the children. Be ready. We are coming.

            -Nott

         Everyone stared at Sirius as he finished the letter. Sirius had to reread it just to make sure that he understood what it contained. James jumped up from the bed and re-snatched the letter from his friend. They remained still for several moments in order to process what had just happened. Their little Harry was betrothed to the child of one of the most feared, and well-known Death Eaters.

            “Did the letter say who the father was?’ Lily asked in a small voice, fearing the answer.

            “No, but she is married so it is safe to assume that it is her husband’s spawn,” James answered.

            “Can’t be,” Sirius cut it. “Bella married young- when I was fifteen- the man is sterile, some potions accident in his third year I think. Once my family found out that there would be no heir by Bella, they were livid. I was able to sneak out of the house more often and stay away for weeks without them noticing my absence. No, whosever child this is, it is not Lestrange’s.”

            No one spoke. They were trying to figure out whose child the girl belonged to. Their musings were interrupted by a loud banging at the front door. Sirius left to answer the door, with a scowl on his face.

            “Well Black, should have known you would be here.” Sneered a voice from the other side of the now open door. “Aren’t you going to let us in, or has spending so many years away from a proper family left you unable to remember manners?”

            “Nott,” Sirius sneered back. “Would you like to close your mouth, or would you like me to do it for you? I found this spell that removes body parts; I might be temped to go a little lower as well.”

            “Enough of this!” A voice said from behind Nott, it was only then that Sirius realized how many people stood on the Potter’s front step. Six hooded figures stood in a semi-circle with Nott in the center. “We have come to retrieve the Potter boy and his parents, not swap petty insults with this Blood traitor.”

            “Enough! Where are the Potters?” Nott asked again.

            “Not that it’s any of your business, but they are in the back room.”

            Nott pushed past Sirius, leading the other hooded figures to the back of the house. When they arrived, they found James and Lily in much the same position that Sirius had left them in five minuets earlier.

            “Potter!” Nott barked. “I thought my letter was clear? We expected you to be ready.”

            James turned to look at Nott then cast a quick _Tempus_ charm.

            “It is now just after seven-thirty; your letter said an hour.”

            “It said _within an hour_ I believe,” Nott said, a superior sneer in place on his face. James just looked blankly at Nott before removing his wand from within his robs, which cause the six men in front of him to do the same. James pointed his wand to the ceiling, but the other men did not relax. He did a complex wand movement before placing his wand within his robes. Upstairs, the sounds of items being packed into trunks could be heard, only then did the men relax. Five minutes later four large trunks were next to the front door waiting for the occupants of the house to make their journey. In the back room no one has moved, Harry had fallen asleep in his father’s arms, which allowed Lily to clean up and finish getting ready for the trip. Moving surprisingly well for someone who had just given birth.

            _He’s hardly an hour old and already his life has been changed. Some good must come out of this; I just know it ._ Lily thought. Twenty minutes later the group was ready to leave. Two of the hooded men had the trunks levitating in front of them, two other men stood next to James and Lily who was holding Harry.

            “We will take you to the Manor,” Snape said. “Avery! Nott! Make sure that you have a firm hold on them, especially you Nott! Get them there in one piece!” The men followed Snape’s orders and grabbed James’s and Lily’s upper arm, preparing to Apparat the new family to their Lord’s Manor.

~*~

            “Dumbledore, what do you mean betrothed?” The angry professor asked the aging man sitting in front of her.

            “Just what I said, Minerva. Harry Potter has been betrothed, and it would seem to Mrs. Lestrange. The father is unknown.” Dumbledore answered.

            “But we cannot let the Potters be taken in by Death Eaters! We need them to try to fight You-Know-Whose army! They must go into hiding.”

            “I agree, but there isn’t much to be done, this type of magic cannot be undone. But yes, the Potters must not been taken with the Death Eaters. It is customary that the daughter will come live with her betrothed’s family.”

            Dumbledore rose from behind his desk and lead Minerva McGonagall out of his office and outside of the Hogwarts’ wards so they could Apperate to Godrick’s Hollow. When they arrived at the small home, they found Sirius sitting in the darkened Parlor with his head in his hands.

            “Their gone.” Sirius said tonelessly, without raising his head. “About twenty minutes ago. Nott, Avery and a few others. The father is You-Know-Who, I think. Makes sense, Lestrange is sterile, stupid inbreed prick.” Sirius was ranting by this point, not paying attention to the two shocked professors standing before him.

            “Sirius,” Dumbledore said slowly. “James, Lily and Harry are all gone?” He got a nod in response. “Do you know where they were taken?” This time Sirius shook his head. “Do you know if they will be allowed to leave?”

            “Maybe. That’s what Nott said. But never trust a Nott.”

            “Dumbledore, what are we going to do?” Minerva asked in a worried tone.

“I’m not sure.” Was the reply she received.

~*~

            “My Lord, we have the boy and his family.” Nott said, bowing low before Lord Voledmort.

            “Good. Bring them in; the children must be united as soon as possible.”

            “Right away, My Lord.” Nott bowed again, and retreated from the room, only to return a few moments later with the Potter family in tow.

            “My Lord, the Potters.”

            Voledmort turned to look at the young family, Lily, though a Mudblood, had always been a beautiful woman, Voldemort had seen her image through Snape’s mind. The Lord Potter, on the other hand, had a mop of unruly black hair and dull brown eyes. Both adults looked nervous, Lily clutched her son closer to her body, fearing that someone was suddenly going to rip the infant out of her arms. Death Eaters surrounded the room, blocking all exits from the scared adults in the center of the room. Voldemort made a slight movement toward one of the people standing at the edge of the room. A few tense moments passed as the person exited the room with everyone waiting for his return. When the man did return, he was carrying a small bundle which he carried to his Master then back away and returned to his spot against the wall. Voldemort looked down on the small bundle laying in his lap and a look of near caring pass over his face.

            “You see Potters,” Voldemort started after a few moments of silence. “I have needed an heir, I am not as young as I once was, and my attempts of becoming immortal-well that is none of your concern. Needless to say, I had a child. This child,” he said, now looking at the family in front of him, “is now betrothed to your son. The traditional way to handle such an arrangement is for the girl to move in with the boy’s family, but this will not be happening. You and your son will live here until the time when they are to be married.”

            James spoke up for the first time. “There is no way that we can live here! We are at war!” he thundered.

            “Potter! That will be enough! Nothing can be done! As much as I detest saying this, there will have to be a peaceful end to the conflict. Until that time, you must stay here; it is the safest place for you to hide.”

            Lily still hadn’t said a word but clung to her small son. She was pale and shaking, waking Harry from his slumber. His emerald green eyes focused on his mother for a moment then trained on the small bundle in the Dark Lord’s lap. He started to squirm and wriggle in his mother’s grasp, in hopes of reaching the small bundle. Voldemort looked at Harry and then at the bundle in his lap, which had begun to wriggle as well.

            “My daughter awakes. She can feel his presence. Mrs. Potter, bring your son up here.”    

            Lily gave a scared look to her husband, then, slowly, walked toward the front of the room. As soon as Lily was with in five feet of the Dark Lord, both bundles wriggling increased, causing Lily to stop suddenly.

            “Put him on the floor.” Voldemort instructed, as soon as Harry was on the ground and Lily had stepped away, Voldemort rose with his daughter in his arms, setting her down next to Harry. Both children stilled for a moment before trying to get closer to each other. Lily, who was slightly closer to the two newborns, stepped towards them to push the bundles together until they were touching. The newborns made a few content cooing then fell into a deep sleep.

            “Bella!” Voldemort shouted. “Take her and the Potters to the nursery where the children will be staying then show the Potters to their rooms.”

            “Yes, my Lord.” Bella said, bowing, then picked up her daughter and led the way through the maze of hallways to the nursery and the Potter’s living quarters.

~*~

            “Sirius, what are you saying? The Potter boy is betrothed? To whom?” a middle aged witch asked in agitation.

            “My cousin is the mother, the father is unknown. The child’s name is unknown.” Sirius answered wirily, he had been answering questions such a this for over an hour, first to Dumbledore, then to some of his coworkers in the Auror department and now to the agitated form of Minerva McGonagall. This night couldn’t be any worst, but fate seem to have an enjoyment of kicking Sirius in the teeth, for Dumbledore just reentered the room holding a scroll of parchment and wearing an pleasant look on his face.

            “Riddle.” He said. “The child’s name is Emillie Riddle.”


	2. A New Life

**Chapter 2** ‘A New Life’

            The first few weeks in the Riddle Manor were strenuous on the young family. James was expected to join the ranks of Voldemort but he was not being accepted by the other members. Snape, once being a good friend of Lily’s, reveled in the opportunity to become close to her once more, and to do so he took James under his wing and began training him. The first week of James’s new training, two weeks after they had arrived and settled in to their new home, was the hardest week of James’s life. It was blatantly obvious that the learning curve at Hogwarts was well below that which was expected of Voldemort’s followers. Lily spent half of her time taking care of her newborn and the other half healing the wounds that James acquired while in training. Yet, James was no fool, he learned quickly and soon was landing a few blows of his own against his able instructor.

            “Oh come on Snape!” James taunted one afternoon, three months after arriving at the Manor. “Is that all you’ve got? This is too easy?”

            “You’re getting cocky Potter.” Snape sneered, but his heart wasn’t in the sneer. Throughout the training the two men had become close, much closer than what would have been hoped for while they were in school. “I might have to teach you a lesson about manners.”

            James dodged the curse thrown at him and fired back his own, barley missing Snape’s arm. “Where Malfoy? He’ll pose a challenge.”

            The two men continued to throw half-hearted insults at each other along with different spells for nearly two hours. As the time for dinner approached so did their aggression, but both men were still smiling and laughing as they tossed progressively more difficult curses and hexes towards each other. The six o’clock bell rang throughout the Manor, this was the signal that should have stopped James and Severus’s duel and sent them to their respective rooms to clean up and head down to dinner, which was always served right at six thirty, but the men paid no heed to the bell. They were enjoying their sparing a little too much to give such cares as to food.

            At six fifteen, Lucius Malfoy strode into the training area, watching the two men.

            “Are either one of you preparing to come to dinner tonight? Or are you content with waiting until morning?” He drawled, side-stepping to avoid a wayward spell.

            “We’re coming, just let me beat Sev real quick.”

            “Beat me? James you must have been taking some extra draws on the wine this afternoon.” Severus countered back. Lucius chuckled while James just out right laughed, hardly paying attention, which nearly got him smacked with a nasty little hex from Severus.  

            “I would hurry this along. Tom is expecting you at dinner for a report on his training Severus, and James, he wants you there too.” Lucius said before sweeping out of the hall, leaving the two schoolboy enemies to their friendly battle.

            Ten minutes pasted without either man getting the upper hand, but they still took no notice to the time, they were too caught up in their game. At six thirty a house-elf popped into the room.

            “Sirs, the master is expecting yous.”

            “We will be right there.” Severus said, not taking his eyes off his opponent.

            Ten more minutes passed. They still had not left the training room.

            Lucius returned, but this time he had Avery and Nott in tow.

            “James! Severus!” He barked, causing the two men to finally halt their battle. “Do you know what time it is?”

            “Uh…six…thirty…two?” James guessed.

            “You’re off Potter. By ten minutes.”

            “Fuck.” Both men swore.

            “Yes I believe that about sums it up. Come along. Hopefully the good news will out weigh your tardiness.” Lucius drawled and led James and Severus out of the training hall with Avery and Nott bringing up the rear.

            The group entered the ornate dining hall to see Tom at the head of the table, looking less than pleased, three empty seats, two on his left one on his right, with the Lady Malfoy seated next to the single empty seat and Lily seated at the end of the two empty seats. Both women had their respective babies in newborn-friendly cradles, Lily had an extra wide cradle next to her in which laid Harry and Emillie. The rest of the seats were now filled with those of Tom’s followers whom had stayed for the evening meal, Avery and Nott had already reclaimed their abandoned seats, now that their job had been completed.

            “Severus, James, how nice of you to join us for supper.” Tom sneered, his displeasure was clear to everyone in the room, Lily tensed, she was still not completely comfortable in the Riddle Manor and was less so when near the Lord Riddle himself. “So tell me,” Tom continued. “How is his training going?”

            “He has exceeded every preconceived notion I had about his abilities. The reason for our tardiness this evening was due to the fact that neither one of us were able to get the upper hand in our duel.” Severus replied.

            “Really? That is great news. Potter, are you prepared to enter my ranks as a full member?”

            James knew that this question would come up sooner rather than latter, and he and Lily had spent hours talking through this decision. James had tried on many different occasions to talk to his former friends but Sirius and Remus would simply not listen. As far as they were concerned, James had turned against them, bringing his wife and newborn along with him. Reports had come in from different spies that Sirius and Remus both had been spouting off anti-Potter hatred since the Potters had left that fateful night in July. James had also tried to contact Dumbledore, but the aging Headmaster would not answer his Owls, or his Floos, and had out and out refused to see his former student on many occasions.

It had become unsafe for James or Lily to walk in any Wizarding area without some form of guard or protection. Last week had been the breaking point when Lily and Narcissa had been out on a walk with the babies and the women had been attacked. The children were fine but both women received some nasty burns and cuts before James, Lucius and Severus, whom had been walking a ways behind them to give the women some ‘girl time’, were able to catch up and run off the attackers. That night Lily told James that she would do everything in her power to save her son and his betrothed and she would be damned if anymore hate reached the children like it had that afternoon. James knew that moment what he had to do, he had to protect his son and his son’s betrothed, that was the only thing that matter.

            “Yes. I am. I am willing to join in order to protect our children from further harm and hatred.” James said, shaking himself out of his musings.

            “Very well, we shall have the ceremony after summer. Now, please, take your seats.”

~*~

            Lily and Narcissa smiled as they watch their toddlers play in the nursery that Tom had set up in the children’s wing. Draco, being the oldest, was much more steady on his feat than his younger friends, and was showing it off proudly. Emillie got tired of his prancing around and on Draco’s next pass by her she tripped him. She and Harry burst out into laughter as Draco began to cry. Narcissa rushed over to her son’s side to make sure that he was not injured but she could not hide the smile that was playing on her lips and the girl’s actions.

            “Oh, she is going to be a hellcat once she grows up!” Lily laughed, tears coming to her eyes. Narcissa laughed her agreement as she set her son sitting up right after checking him for any scrapes.

            “Now Emillie, that’s not very nice. Do not trip your cousin.” Narcissa scolded the young girl, who just smiled back at her aunt.

            “Cissi!” Emillie cried, throwing her hands up. “Up!” Narcissa picked up the girl and started to dance to unheard music around the boys.

            She bent Emillie over backwards in her arms saying, “Look at the silly boys, they don’t want to dance!” Emillie just giggled all over and kept repeating “silly boys, silly boys.”

            Lily laughed at the sight of the giggling girl, getting up when her own son started to call out “up, up”. She bent down picking Harry up and settling him into one of her arms and reached out to do the same with Draco. Soon the two women with their three young ones where dancing and giggling around the nursery. All whom passed in the hall could hear the children’s laughter and shouts of glee. Four men in particular heard this and entered the room.

            James, followed by Severus, Lucius and Tom all entered the room to watch the happy scene in front of them. Emillie caught sight of her father as Narcissa danced her around.

            “Daddy!” She cried happily, reaching out towards the man. This stopped both women from dancing and to look at the door. Similar cries of ‘daddy’ echoed from the boy’s mouths, also reaching for their fathers. Lily and Narcissa stepped forward and delivered each child to their respective fathers.

            “How are you doing Princess?” Tom cooed at his smiling daughter.

            “We dance, daddy.” Emillie replied, not sounding like the two and half years old that she really was. All three children sounded much older than their actual ages, thanks, in part, by Tom’s insistence that the children were taught to talk like adults, and not as ‘brainless apes’ like the rest of the Wizarding community, according to Tom.

            “What were you dancing to?”

            “A song in Auntie Cissy’s head.”

            “Did you have fun?”

            “Yes, daddy.”

            “Well, I’m glad darling. Come on, we shall get some lunch now?”

            “Yes please daddy.”

            “Alright. What shall we have?”

            “Cookies!” All three children cried.

            “Well that sounds like desert not lunch.” James laughed bouncing a laughing Harry in his arms. The group walked, still laughing out of the nursery and down to a private dining area where they would take their lunch.

~*~

            Three weeks. It felt like a lifetime ago for the inhabitants of Riddle Manor. Lily had passed away two days earlier. James had locked himself along with Harry in his room until the funeral; even then it was unsure how often the grieving family would emerge. James sat on the edge of his bed, Harry sleeping beside him, fingering his wife’s wedding band in his good hand. His left arm had been cursed away from the elbow down and James had refused so far to let Tom create him a magical hand to replace the one he had lost.

            _Six years this summer._ James thought to himself. He could not grasp the fact that his wife was dead. _How did this happen? How did our life come to this?_

            There was a knock at the Potter’s chamber drawing James out of his dark musings.

            “Who is it?” James asked, his voice hoarse with unused.

            “It’s me.” Severus’s voice answered through the door.

            “Come in.” James said dully.

            Severus opened the door, stepped in and shut it once more. He took in the sight of his friend crouched over in his grief.

            “James, I brought something to help you sleep.”

            “I don’t want it.”

            “James, you must sleep. You’ve hardly slept since the attack. None of us have. Please take it, Tom and Lucius already have.”

            “Tom took it? Why?”

            “You know as well as anyone how hurt Emillie was by Dumbledore’s spell. Tom’s been worried sick because she is still not responding to any treatment. And Lucius, well Narcissa nor Draco were seriously hurt in the raid but he’s been worrying himself sick over everyone’s wellness. Please just take the _potion_.”

            James looked even more defeated, but he held out his hand, her ring still in his grasp. Severus handed James the bottle then moved to the other side of the bed to pick up the still sleeping five year old.

            “I’ve placed Emillie and Draco in Emillie’s room. I believe that the children will be more comfortable there.” Severus said, settling the boy further into his arms. James nodded, downing the potion.

            Severus carried Harry and placed him next to Emillie and Draco on the large bed that had replaced Emillie’s crib several years before. As Severus watched the children sleeping he could not help but think back to that fateful day three weeks earlier.

              _The early morning in southern France was bright, clear, and warm. Emillie, Draco, and Harry had risen before dawn and seen to it that every adult in the Malfoy French Manor had been awaken and ready to head down to the beach as promised the night before. House-elves had been preparing a large picnic lunch for the large group to eat while at the beach. The children had been looking forward to their trip to the warm French beach for months, ever since the decision had been made to spend the wet English spring and part of the summer in the Malfoy’s summer home. They were running around, trying to watch everything that was going on all at once. Lily had been laughing, well they all had been, the children’s excitement was contagious._

_It was well into the evening when the group returned home. The children were worn out and sleeping in the arms of one of their parents. Emillie had been handed over to Lily while James had Harry, Tom carried some of their other things as house-elves rushed around the tired group. Several popping noises caught Severus’s attention; he turned to look over his shoulder. He was met with a dozen or so wands pointed in the direction of the group, more importantly, the children and the parents holding them. Severus had given the call to fight but they were already under fire. Lucius stayed by Narcissa and Lily, who now had Harry in her arms as well as Emillie, while James rushed to aid Severus and Tom. They were greatly outnumbered, this being a family trip, none of the other followers had joined them in France. For nearly ten minutes the fighting wore on, James and Severus had been able to take out a few of their attackers leaving them on more even footing, but Lucius had been drawn away from his wife and Lily. Narcissa, only having one child in her arms, was able to defend Lily to some extent, but not entirely._

_As the fight continued a new face emerged, Dumbledore, and he had eyes only for the small girl whom Lily had a death grip on, trying to protect her. Time seemed to stop as the men realized exactly where the old headmaster was headed, straight towards the unarmed mother. James had given a shout which sent everyone back into motion, everyone trying to either get to Lily and the children or trying to keep the others from reaching her. Dumbledore gave Lily the chance to stand down and hand over the two children in her arms, but in true Lily form, she told him to go to hell. Dumbledore did not speak again but started firing nonverbal spells at her. Tom, at some point, had set a barrier around Lily, giving her some protection, but that too started to fail. James had almost reached his wife when the tell-tell violet streak of light was sent Lily’s way. James had stopped short when he realized what had happened. The barrier around Lily shattered, sending sparks flying in all directions, Lily saw the spell headed towards Emillie at the last second and moved the small child so that Emillie’s body was shielded by her own. The spell enveloped Lily but did not stop, it was searching for Emillie. Everyone saw Lily fall to her knees, everyone heard the ear-splitting cry of a young child, and everyone knew that Dumbledore was as good as dead for harming Tom’s daughter._

_Tom started firing spells like mad towards Dumbledore; all of them were easily reflected. One of these stray spells reflected from Dumbledore, literally bounced off of Lily’s still glowing form and hit Harry, causing him to cry out. At that point Dumbledore knew that the only way to survive the night was the leave the battle at once, which he did, followed by his assassins._

            Those that had been injured in the fight were healed and then questioned which required a few more healings, and Tom was far from finished with them. Lily had fought hard for her life, but the combination of Dumbledore’s magic binding spell and Tom’s rage induced stunner finally left her too weak to continue.

            The children had no idea what had happened, even though it had been explained to them several times, but death is not something that a five year old can normally process. Severus smiled as he saw Emillie turn towards Harry and Harry do the same. They never touched but it was clear that the bond they shared was calling out towards its other half for comfort in a difficult and confusing time.

            Tom was in one of the worst moods since the attack. All of the Malfoy Manors had gone under major security upgrades; all of the wards had been reinforced and added too. Tom was insisting on training camps for all of his followers. He wanted each man and woman to become warriors, even his daughter. Next week would begin Emillie’s new training regime, Harry and Draco would join her by permission of the reluctant adults. James and the Malfoys wanted the children to enjoy their childhood, not be sucked into the war at such an early age, but Tom had been animate. He even went as far to throw Lily’s impending death at James in order to get him to agree. After Lily’s passing, Tom was sent into a working frenzy, wanting to get everyone ready for any attack that Dumbledore might send. No one close to him was allowed to leave the Manor grounds unless protected following the long list of guidelines Tom had created. He vowed never to let what happened to Lily to happen to anyone else.

~*~

A small black haired boy ran around the corner, shrieking in delight. The raven-haired girl, whom followed him, was also laughing with mirth. The person causing such a ruckus of merriment was a young white haired boy. Each child was close to the same age of seven years old. And each should have been paying attention to where their current path was leading them. The hall that the black haired boy had lead his two companions lead to the private chambers of the young girl’s father, whom had forbade the children from entering under any condition. The girl, her laughter beginning to quiet down, looked for the first time at her surroundings. She knew these walls, these paintings, and the door, which the boy in front of her was on a path to intercept with; this was her father’s wing of the manor.

            “Harry!” she called frantically. “Stop! We shouldn’t be here!”

            “Em, you worry too much,” Harry replied, still laughing.

            “Harry, listen to me! This is father’s wing! We must leave _now_!”

            “Merlin,” the pale haired boy said in fear. “Harry, we really must go. If my farther catches us here…”

            “His punishment will be nothing compared to mine,” said a cold voice behind the frightened boy. The three children turned to look into the angry face Emillie’s father. He was flanked by a furious Lucius Malfoy and his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange.

The three adults were already in a foul mood; Albus Dumbledore refused to see reason yet again. For the past seven years Voldemort had tried, without any success, to end the war peacefully, but no, the old meddling fool would hear nothing of it. Then, two years ago while visiting the Malfoy summer home in France, tragedy struck. The Order of the Phoenix along with several dozen Aurors showed up at the home and a huge battle ensued. The Potters had been gravely injured, Lily dieing a few weeks later from injures she received while trying to protect Emillie and Harry from harm. James lost part of his left arm but Voldemort was able to give him a magically created silver arm in replacement.

Many Death Eaters, Order Members and Aurors died that night, and the only thing that was accomplished was further winding the gap between the two groups. This morning was just the icing on the cake; Dumbledore asked, no- demanded, that Harry and his father be turned over to the Order, Emillie have her magic bound, and Voldemort hand himself into the Ministry and given the Kiss. These thoughts raced through Voldemort’s mind as he looked down at the three scared children. His eye searched the faces of his daughter and her betrothed until he found what he was looking for; each child had a scar from the battle two years ago, their only token of the tragedy. Harry’s scar was in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead; one of Voldemort’s stray curses caused that, but Lily had been able to shield Harry from most of the effects of the curse. His daughter’s scar was much different, it started at the corner of her right eye and zigzagged down her face, neck and collar bone where it ended in the shape of an upside-down trident over her heart. Voldemort could only see part of the scar but knew it like the back of his hand. Dumbledore had given her that scar when he had tried to bind Emillie’s magic during the fight, but thankfully Lily had been paying attention to the old man and blocked most of the effects, much like she had for Harry, yet Emillie still wore that scar which had finally begun to fad into a slim line down her face. Voldemort was brought out of his musings by a small chuckle behind him. He turned to see Lucius trying, and failing, to hide an amused smile. Voldemort opened to ask the man what exactly was so damned funny but never got that far, Lucius’s smile widened and he pointed towards the children. Emillie was standing in front of her father with her puppy dog eyes firmly in place and a small pout on her lips; she was standing with her arms behind her back and twisting her left foot into the floor nervously. When she saw her father looking at her, she quickly lowered her eyes then raised them after a moment to look through her eyelashes back up at her father. Everyone knew that Voldemort was a sucker for this pitiful look. It only took a second before Voldemort crumpled to his daughter’s will.

            “Oh come here.” Voldemort said opening his arms so that his daughter could run into the awaiting hug. “Now, what are you three doing down this hall?” He asked once Emillie had been scooped up and her legs wrapped about his torso.

            “Well father,” Emillie began, not at all sounding like the seven year old that she was. “We were playing hid and go seek, but then that turned into Tag and Draco was It!” she finished happily.

            “And why were you playing two Muggle games?” He inquired of his daughter.

            “Aunt Lil’s birthday, father.”

            _Merlin_. Voldemort cured inside to himself. _I completely forgot, I must go inform the House Elves to prepare a feast. Harry and James will never forgive me if I didn’t, which means that Em would hate me. Merlin!_

            “Of course my dear. But why were you in this wing, you know that you are not to be here.”

            “I know father but we just were not paying attention. I’m sorry,” she said bowing her head in shame.

            “Accepted. Now, I want you three to go back to Emillie’s wing and play there until the feast tonight. Do not leave unless you are called for. Am I understood?”

            “Yes sir.” Came the reply from three very grateful children. Voldemort set his daughter down and motioned them to leave.      

            “Lucius,” Voldemort said once the children had left. “I want you to put up extra wards on this wing, the fool who did them last time didn’t do the correctly. Who was it?”

            “My husband,” Bella said speaking for the first time.

            “Send him to me.”

            Bella bowed and left with Lucius, their master’s bad mood had returned now that his daughter was not around.

~*~

            


	3. Changes in the Tide

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN _HOGWARTS LETTERS_?” Voldemort thundered. The small man in front of him quivered in fear.

            “Y-y-yes m’lord. Th-three of them. O-one for Dr-Dr-Draco Malfoy, and one f-f-for H-H-Harry P-P-Potter, a-a-and o-o-one f-f-for E-E-Emillie R-R-Riddle.” The man’s stutter had become worst as his delivered his news. The man was telling the truth, three Hogwarts letters had arrived that morning for the three eleven year olds who were living in the manor, though most of the inhabitants only knew of two, Emillie’s existence had been kept very quiet for fear of an attack on the Manor to get the child, and Voldemort was furious, how on earth did the meddling fool learn of his daughter’s name? Her name was a secret to all but a very select few. Thankfully the man had delivered the news when there were no other Death Eaters present; Voldemort killed the man and turned his body into ash. He then summoned a house-elf to bring him James Potter and Lucius Malfoy. Twenty minutes later both men were standing in front of Voldemort.

            “We seem to have a small problem, gentlemen. The Headmaster has enrolled the children into school.”

            “Well, Harry is going. I don’t want him to miss out on Hogwarts, some of my best childhood memories are from that school.”

            “If you wish it my lord, Draco will also attend. It would be helpful to know what was happening within the school.”

            Voldemort looked at the two men standing before him. He knew that James wanted Harry to attend Hogwarts, it was the place where he had met Lily, and the same was true for Lucius and Narcissa. It was dangerous to send the boys there, but the attacks against the Potters had lessened in the years following Lily’s death. Draco would be safe there, that was not the issue. The issue was Harry. He was in danger. But Snape had been able to hide his alliances and keep his job in Hogwarts.

            “Very well, but Snape will be watching the boys. They are to go to him if anything is to go array.

 

September 1

           

“But father why can’t I go with Harry and Draco?” Emillie whined to her father, Harry and Draco were just about to leave with their fathers to catch the Hogwarts Express.

            “As I have told you for the past three weeks Emillie, Dumbledore will try to harm you at the school, as it is I have no idea how he discovered your name. In all of our correspondents I have never spoken it to the old man. No, you will be safer here. Your Aunt Bella will train you, as I myself, Snape, when he is able to leave Hogwarts, and Uncle Luc.” Lucius grimaced at the name that Emillie had given him many years ago, and even though she can now pronounce his name correctly, she refuses to do so.

            “Fine,” she said with a pout, but it quickly disappeared as she ran to Harry and Draco to say good-bye and to extract promises that they will write every week to tell her about their classes and the people there. Twenty minutes before eleven o’clock, James and Lucius lead their boys to the edge of the wards and disapperated to the station.

            “Come. Your training begins, my Dark Princess.”

            Three weeks after the boys left brought the boys’ weekly letters to Emillie.

            _Dear Emillie,_

 _Be glad that your father did not wish you to attend Hogwarts, the teachers hear are useless! Well, not Uncle Sev (we actually have to call him_ ‘Professor’ _or_ ‘sir’ _, how weird is that?) he’s the only good teacher here really. Our Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA for short, I really don’t have to write that each time) professor is a joke! Everyone seems to think that he’s under the control of your father! Which is just crazy because the man is useless, he seems to think that monsters are going to be jumping around corners to eat us or something._

_Would you ask your father if his library has any good defense books in it? I really want to study this subject but even the library here is useless. My other classes are going good, and guess what? I’ve been made the Slytherin Seeker. Youngest Seeker in a century! I can’t wait! Dad is sending me my broom, which has Draco all mad because he won’t be able to fly around the grounds with me, but all three of us can do that when we get home._

_Have a great week Em, I really miss you._

_Yours,_

_Harry_

 

December 21

           

Yule was approaching and the Manor was taking a drastic redecoration. Emillie had insisted on having the house-elves decorate for Christmas and to celebrate the boys return home. The eleven-year-old girl had change a lot in the nearly four months that the boys had been at school. She was now toned with rock hard muscles, had a slight tan and had been learning several types of physical defense styles. The training that she, Harry, and Draco had received prior to this was just a small taste of her training now. Her magic had also grown; she had been studying seven days a week with her tutors and now was several months ahead of the boys in lessons. Another new addition was the black mask that she wore when there was a chance of meeting a Death Eater that did not know her identity. This was a precaution that her father had insisted on after the arrival of her Hogwarts letter at the End of July. There were several Death Eaters who knew her name who should not have known it, they were taken care of and the Mask had been made.

            “Emillie!” the stern voice of Bellatrix tore Emillie from her daydreaming and back into the classroom. “Pay attention, the boys will not arrive for several more hours and Snape will be by before then to check on your potion.”

            Emillie looked from her aunt and then down at her caldron. Her Uncle Sev had given her a very tough final exam for the semester. She was to figure out which potion was before and correct the mistakes that were made to it. Well she had already figured out the potion, it was a simple Swelling Solution but the potion was very wrong, it caused the swelling to continue until whatever had been affected by the potion burst, very dangerous. She had already gathered all the ingredients need to correct the potion but had to now find the correct order in which to add them. Emillie looked at the notes she had made about the properties of the potion and decided how to proceed. She would add the corrective ingredients in the order that she thought the original ingredients had been added.

Twenty minutes later she was finish with the potion, and Bella had handed her a one hundred-question test over the potion she had just corrected. The first few questions were simple; questions like “Why did added Powdered Dragon’s Claws have a negative affect on the potion, and which ingredient was most ill affected by adding the Powdered Dragon’s Claw?” and “If the caldron had been left on the fire for five minutes more, what would have happened to the potion and which ingredients are to blame?” After that the questions became much harder, asking to work out the precise time that the Dried Heartthron Fruit had been added and how much was added, and then asking to list the misused ingredients in order of when they were added to the potion and how much of each was used.

By the time Emily had finished the test, had Severus look over both the potion and the test and had him grill her on several obscure concepts related to the potion and its correction, Emillie only had forty-five  minutes to get a shower, get dressed and be in the front hall to meet the boys with her father. After making sure that her mask was firmly in place, she ran from the room to her wing on the other side of the Manor. The house-elves had already drawn a nice hot bath for her and had her lilac coluored dress robes with matching flats on her bed waiting for her. Her bathroom, which she now hurried into at a great speed, was all white marble with gold trimming and silver finishing. Her bathtub could easily fit four people, and when she and the boys were babies, Narcissa and Lily had washed them in this tub together.

 Emillie quickly washed and hopped out of the tub, grabbing a large white towel and hurrying into her bedroom to get dressed. Her room was painted in a light purple colour, much to the distain of her father who wanted it painted green, with light wood trimmings. In the center of the bed was a large maple canopy bed with purple and sea-foam green linens. To the right of the bed was a large door which lead into a large closet and on the other side of the bed, next to the door which lead to the bathroom, was another door leading to a large and well furnished play room. Emillie ran to her bed, nearly tripping on the edge of the rug that covered the wood floors. She pulled on her dress robes and shoes then sat down at the vanity in the room, allowing her personal house-elf to style her hair. Thirty-five minutes after she entered her bedchambers, she was racing out of them again, mask firmly in place. She made it to the front hall just as Harry, Draco, James and Lucius had Apperated at the edge of the wards.

“Cutting it rather close, are you not?” The Dark Lord asked his daughter as she materialized next to him. 

“I am sorry Father; Uncle Sev’s Potion final took much longer than I had anticipated.”

“How did you perform?”

“I made high marks on the practical portion of the exam, and missed three question on the written,” she reported.

“Why did you miss those questions?”

“I mixed up the affects of Powered Dragon’s Horn, and Crushed Dragon’s Horn; wrote one of the steps of the Antidote to the Swelling Solution in the wrong place; and misspelled _Archmentious Powder._ ”

“What does _Archmentious Powder_ do?”

“It is the key ingredient to make the Antidote, causing the reversal of the collection of fluid within an object that has been subjected to the Swelling Solution, and is highly toxic when added to water, or eaten in its plant form,” Emillie recited as if she had just absorbed the potion textbook.

“Very good. How is your grade in the class over all?”

“Uncle Sev said that I could beet any of his sixth year students with that simple potion. Then again he thinks that are all ‘a bunch of dunderheads’, as he calls them.”

Voldemort sent a small smile to his daughter, and place a hand on her shoulder. There was a loud rapping at the door and a house-elf ran up to open it. Standing there was a beaming Harry Potter and a smirking Draco Malfoy, behind them stood two obviously proud fathers holding trunks and birdcages. The three friends ran towards each other and collided into a groups huge; Emillie’s squeals of happiness echoing in the hall. The three fathers met behind the giggling children to discuss what they had noticed about the two young boys.

“Slytherin has done both very well. Harry seems to have taken a liking to Defense, Transfiguration, Charms and Quidditch. Surely Emillie told you that Harry was placed on the Slytherin team the first month of school?” James said, clearly very proud of his son. “Youngest Seeker in a century!”

“Draco also has done very well. His strengths are in Potions, Transfiguration and Charms. I do believe that he will tryout for the team next year but as a Chaser.” Lucius said, bragging on his son, then turned to James with a friendly sneer. “Maybe Draco could help Harry raise his dismal Potions grade.” 

“Only if Draco will let Harry help him in Defense. Honestly, I have no idea why your son can’t seem to pick up the subject. He can do Transfiguration, can he not?”

“That will do,” Voldemort said, effectively ending the friendly quarrel. “I am pleased that the boys are doing so well at school. But what about the Headmaster?”

“Sir, I believe that it would be best to have that conversation away from prying ears,” Lucius answered, gesturing towards the children behind him.

“Emillie, where are your manners? Show the boys to their rooms, and then meet us in the dinning room in fifteen minutes.”

“But Father they know where their rooms are,” Emillie complained, but with a stern look from her father she lead the boys to her wing were they had been living together for the past several years. Harry’s room was two doors down from Emillie’s, separated by the shared parlor, which had, been use as a playroom. His room was pained light blue with warm English Oak floors, dresser and nightstands. His bed, which was made from the same wood, was a king size with deep sea blue linens. His bathroom was located next to his closet on the opposite side of the room from where the parlor was, and was designed in light marble counters, floors and tub. His fixtures, both in his room and bathroom, were made out of polished brass and copper. Draco’s room was on the other side of the hall from Harry’s and Emillie’s room. His room had been painted Forest Green, with dark Cherry Wood floors and furniture. His linens were sea-foam green, which gave the room a pleasant contrast. His bathroom, in complete contrast to his two friends, was done in black and green marble with iron fixtures. Once the boys had settled, the three children collected their brooms and winter clothing to go flying across the manor’s grounds before the snowstorm hit later that night.

Several days past with the sounds of children laughing through the Manor; Emillie, Harry and Draco had be confined to the inside of the Manor due to the on set of a sever blizzard. James and Lucius, tiring of nearly being knocked down by the children flying though the corridors on their brooms, had cleared out one of the old ballrooms near Emillie’s wing where the children could happily fly around without hurting anyone. Emillie, her father not allowing her to stop her training over the holidays, woke up at five each morning to perform her normal morning training. She would run about a track that her father had built for her in the basement of the Manor six times, which equaled about a five mile run. Then she would go into the weight room that was connected to the track and poolroom, and workout in there for an hour and a half. At seven am, Emillie would change into a swimsuit and take a 400 meter cool down swim, which took her a half an hour. After that she would eat a breakfast of fresh fruit, oatmeal and eggs. Then it was up to her room to shower, get dressed and wake the boys up in the most annoying way possible.

This morning, being Christmas morning, Emillie ran into Harry’s room, jumped up onto the bed and proceed to jump around the bed with conjured birds thrilling shrilly around her. Once Harry had begun to wake up, she ran out of the room, leaving a few birds in Harry’s room, and down the hall where she burst into Draco’s room and gave him the same treatment as his friend. Every moment the boys stayed in bed the birds thrilled louder and more shrilly, forcing the boys to get up and run to the safety of their bathrooms.

“COME ON BOYS!” Emillie yelled at the top of her voice. “IT’S CHRISTMAS!”

Once she heard the sounds of showers being turned on, she ran from the hall, across the Manor and gave the same treatment to James, Severus, and the Malfoy adults. With her friend’s parents officially awake, she made her way to her father’s rooms. Every year was the same; she would sneak past the guards, sat ‘Hello’ to Najini, and open her father’s door a crack to peak in. He would always be lying on his side with his back facing the door, pretending to be asleep. Emillie knew that he would get up the same time she did to do work or watch her train, but on her Birthday and Christmas, he always came back to bed and allowed her to wake him up. This morning was no different; Emillie smiled as she saw her father pretending to sleep, then opened the door wider and ran in with several more birds following her.

“Happy Christmas Father!” Emillie said as she jumped onto his bed. Voldemort made a show of pretending to wake up, making the smile on Emillie’s face grow.

“It can’t be Christmas,” he answered her with a tiny smile playing on his lips. “I told them to cancel it.”

“Well, _I_ told them not to listen to you!” Emillie said with a shriek of glee.

“If that is the case, why are we still up here? Don’t you have presents to open?”

“Yes I do. But,” Emillie’s voice turned to become very serious. “Aunt Cissi will not let us open them until we have breakfast. So get up so we can eat and the open PRESENTS!” With that excited yell, Emillie jumped from the bed and ran from the room to the dinning hall where everyone else had gathered.

“Is your father coming Em?” Harry asked.

“Her father is right behind her, and how many times do I have to tell you not to call her that ridicules nickname.”

Harry just smirked back at the older man, before turning his attention back to Emillie.

“So now that everyone is up, thanks to you, and we are all down here, what was the big rush?”

“It’s Christmas, silly,” Emillie said, taking her seat next to Harry and her father sat down at the head of the table. “The sooner we eat, the sooner we can open presents!”

“Always knew you were more spoiled than me,” Draco drawled from across the table, impersonating his father perfectly. James, who was sitting next to Draco, swat him lovingly on the back of the head for his check.

“She’s not spoiled and you know,” James said with a smile.

“Well, she puts on a good show of it,” Draco replied in a tone that implied that the subject was now closed.

“Enough talk! We shall see who is more spoiled once we finish eating.”

The group finished their meal in silence and was herded into lounge by an excited Emillie. Everyone sat around the huge Yule Tree that the house-elves had erected and decorated in the center of the room. Presents expanded from the bottom of the tree, ending at the foot of the chair that Lucius was sitting, some seven feet from the base of the tree. A house-elf appeared near the tree, and with a signal from Voldemort, it reached for the first present and took it to Harry. Harry accepted the package and looked whom it was from.

“It’s from Draco,” Harry said, then opened the gift. Inside the box were a large book and three polished stones, which were about as big as Harry’s fist.

“They are to practice Transfiguration with. The book is better than the joke of a book they assigned us for school, and I thought it would be a fun thing to do over the summer,” Draco explained. 

“Thank you, Draco,” Harry said with a smile.

A house-elf took the wrapping paper away while the first house-elf brought forth the second gift and set it before Emillie. The rest of the morning went much in this same fashion and by the time mid-day rolled around the three children and five adults had piles of gifts stacked near them. Emillie had got a similar gift from Draco, only the book was about Charms, Harry had gotten her a wand polishing kit and a book on dangerous magical beasts; James gave her and the boys books on flying, broom care, and a broom servicing kit, this gift was unexplained until an hour later when a house-elf brought in three broom shaped parcels from the eldest Malfoys. Her father had given her and Harry matching necklaces that would warn each other and Voldemort, if either were in danger; he had given a similar one to Draco. James and Lucius had given, on top of their first gifts, similar items to the three children. James’s gift was a ring with the three family crests on them; the surname crest was in the center of the ring with the other two on the sides. The rings would deflect minor hexes, curses and jinxes, along with informing the wearer where the other two were. The Malfoys’ gift was a bracelet that would heal minor injuries to the wearer. Harry’s had an emerald in the center, Draco a moonstone, and Emillie a sapphire. Severus had gifted the children with arm and leg wand holsters along with a set of books in advanced potions making. Harry, in addition to the gifts from the adults and Draco, received a poison green snake from Emillie. She had also given Draco a small kitten that would grow into a type of magical panther that would only grow to be the size of an over grown house cat.

The rest of the holiday went smoothly, if not too fast for the three young friends, but as January neared a recently distant Bella began to pester Emillie about starting her training again. Emillie had been able to hold off Bella’s advances for a few days but once the boys where heading off to the train Bella became more persistent. New Year’s Day found Emillie caged within her classroom with Bella quizzing Emillie on everything that she had learned the semester before. After the written test, Bella led Emillie to the training room in the basement where the pair spent hours testing on physical strength, dueling and stamina. At 6 pm, Emillie made her way to the dinning hall, ate, then went to her room, showered and was in bed fast asleep by eight.

Mid-February brought disturbing news; Dumbledore had begun to show a special interest in the two young Slytherins. He had set up special lessons with Harry and Draco each Friday night, during these ‘lessons’ Dumbledore had let it slip that he was interested in finding the location of Voldemort’s heir. He believed she was the key to defeating the ‘Dark Lord’ and ‘to bring peace to the Wizarding World’.

 _It’s all rubbish._ Harry wrote to Emillie in March. _‘bring peace’? Who does he think he’s kidding? Don’t worry, he doesn’t know where you are or where your manor is (make sure you tell your father!) I’ll write back soon, remember what our fathers told us._

_-Harry_

_P.S. Draco says hello and sends his love, apparently he’s too lazy write himself._

_-HP_

~*~

            As Harry and Draco entered their Second year at Hogwarts, it had become clear that the boys were far behind the achievements of Emillie. With her specialized training she was well on her way to becoming a talented witch and assassin. Voldemort and Bella had worked hard to train Emillie into the fighter she will become. At twelve years old, Emillie was able to strike fear into the hearts of some of her father’s most dedicated followers. She was let into meetings between her father and his most loyal followers, so that she could learn strategy and how to tell when someone was lying. Over the summer she had tried to teach the boys some of the things she had been learning, but they were able to distract her by dragging her outside to go flying.

            “The boys must be taken out of school! They are so far behind Emillie that they will be no help if the world goes to war!” Lucius said, outraged that James did not see the boys’ lack of education as a problem.

            “They can learn the same stuff over holidays! If we take the boys out now it will raise too many questions, we can’t simply pull the boys out after one year at Hogwarts.” James retorted.

            “Unfortunately, James is correct. We cannot pull the boys out until their fifth year. Lucius, you should know that.” Voldemort said, interrupting the fight that was sure to ensue from the two angry men.  “The boys will have to study hard over the summer and Christmas holidays to try to make up some of the gap between them and Emillie. James, I understand that Harry was made Seeker last fall, correct?” James nodded his head in answer to the question. “Very good. Lucius, I want Draco on that team as well, I do not care how you manage it but get that boy on the team! Neither should not be without the protection of the other. Dumbledore will surely try to get information out of the boys.” With that the men departed. Lucius went to his room to write a letter to the makers of the Nimbus brooms to place an order for seven new Nimbus 2001 brooms, while James went to make sure that the boys were ready for their trip to Diagon Ally for school supplies.

            September 1st rolled around and found Emillie once again very unhappy that the boys were forced to leave again for school. This year, however, she did not complain about their departure; more and more Death Eaters were in the manor now that Dumbledore had pushed a law through the Ministry that gave the Aurors the right to bring in anyone who may or may not be involved with, what the law called, ‘anti-peace movements, believes and practices’. It was a bunch of rubbish but just last week the Nott family had be taken in for questioning, the Nott heir may not be allowed to attend school this year and his parents are being held in Azkaban while their manor in Wales was being searched. Many of the Death Eaters-which, come to find out, is the name that Dumbledore had told the rest of Wizarding Britain that followers of Voldemort called themselves- had taken up residence within the Slytherin Manor for protection. Emillie had been forced to wear her mask anytime she stepped foot out of her room to protect her identity. She now stood next to her father in silence as she watched her two childhood friends getting ready to leave for their Second Year at Hogwarts.

            This year Harry and Draco had a special assignment from Voldemort. While he was in school, he had had a pet.

            _“Now this pet of mine is very dangerous. She will be able to smell your connection with me and will make her way back to me.”_ Voldemort had told them. Neither Harry or Draco could speak parsltounge but Voldemort had taught them a few phrases so they would be able to reach his beloved snake. Yet, this proved harder than anyone realized. Once the great snake had realized that her master was indeed alive, she was livid for being forced to live far below Hogwarts for so many decades. By the time the snake finally made her way back to her master, several students and a ghost had been harmed by her anger. Luckily, Harry and Draco were not the targets of her rage, and returned home without any injury. They were, however, in the middle of a legal case that surrounded the olbiviation of one of their professors, a Mr. Lockhart. Lucius was sent into tears of laughter when he read the legal documents, he sent his lawyer on the job and the matter would soon be settled.  

~*~

            The holidays for Harry and Draco became less and less fun. Though they had kept up with the training they had begun several years earlier, they were still far behind Emillie. At nearly thirteen years old she was passing the level of most of the seventh years at Hogwarts, and had surpassed many of Voldemort’s less talented followers. Her father had insisted that she was taught to fight with magic and without it. Emillie was now highly skilled in the use of a blade and guns. Her training room had a second room added onto it, which looked like a military base’s armory than a weapons room for a teen aged girl, and Harry and Draco were expected to learn the same.

            Severus had held onto his position at Hogwarts and by doing so was able to give private lessons to Harry and Draco on their nights off, and when he was not needed back at the Manor to check on Emillie’s progress with his curriculum. The boys were still far behind Emillie but the lessons with Severus had helped to slowly close that gap. The summers are when most of their training took place. Emillie often joined the boys in their training but it was just review for her. As the boy’s third year approached the learning gap between Emillie and the boys had been reduced to about six months. Severus would be working to close that gap a little more while they were at school, and it was expected that by the end of the physical year the boys would only be a month or two behind Emillie.

            The last week of August brought disturbing news, Dumbledore had hired a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, not surprising by the outcome of the last two. Sirius Black would take the position, and he had a much better chance of keeping the position than his predecessors. Dumbledore would have the Wizarding World believe that Voldemort had placed a curse on the position which kept a professor from keeping their position any longer than a year, but this was not the case, Dumbledore simply had a knack for hiring incompetent people, but this year was shaping up to be different. Sirius Black had held a special hatred for the Potter family for thirteen years, this anger only grew when he found out about Lily’s death, not that he was told exactly whom the curses had come from. The addition of Black to the Hogwarts staff was cause for great concern. Severus was to do everything in his power to protect Harry from his legal godfather, but Severus could not protect Harry everywhere he went, such as into the Defense classroom.

            By Christmas, Harry had been sent to the Hospital Wing over twenty times due to mishaps in his Defense class. Draco had been sent at least a dozen times due to similar mishaps, which he fell into while trying to protect his friend. James and Lucius had gone to seen the Headmaster several times about this ‘accidents’, but each time the fathers where waved off with a ‘that’s what happens in a school full of young wizards and witches’. The last time the men showed up to Dumbledore’s office they were met with several members of the Order, fight broke out and many people were injured. Severus was called to tend to James and Lucius for their injuries. The fathers made a full recovery but the decision was made. The boys would be pulled out of Hogwarts in December and they would continue their training at home. Severus was forced to give up his position at Hogwarts, no one was quite sure what the legal reason was, but everyone knew that it was because Severus rushed off to help his friends after the fight instead of staying at Hogwarts and helping the Order members.

This was not to last. Once again, Lucius called on the talents of his esteemed team of lawyers, and the boys along with Severus would be allowed to return to Hogwarts the following fall for their fourth year. There were stipulations of course. New guards would be placed in the boy’s classes to ensure that the incidents from the previous year had simply been accidents, and that they would not happen again. The boys would also have to take ‘placement exams’ to make sure that they would be able to keep up with the fourth year course work. Severus was rehired with the promise of defending and healing those within the school if the need should arise again. Severus agreed, but only because the new guards were on Lucius’s pay role, which meant that Severus’s involvement would be more in the healing area than the fighting. And should the occasion arise and the boys hurt, well it was his duty to help and protect children first wasn’t it?

            The latest attack and the temporary loss of spies within Hogwarts sent Voldemort over the edge. He was enraged at the audacity of the old man! Though Lucius’s lawyers had secured the return of Severus and the boys, the few months without them there could prove to be disastrous. He called for extra training sessions for all within the Manor, and had taken to training Emillie personally. This would not seem as bad, a father wanting to make sure that his child was able to protect themselves seemed perfectly normal had it not been for the state that Emillie was in after their ‘training’ sessions. Severus was called to heal the young woman nearly every day. It would seem that Voldemort was taking his ire out on his daughter. At first it was just a few cuts and bruises, nothing of great concern, but the small cuts and bruises turned into deep bone bruises, and long lacerations. Emillie fought back with everything she had but she was lucky if she was able to deflect most of his spells.

            James, Lucius, and Severus would train her at night to fight her father, arming her with more spells and working on her accuracy while in a fight. The March following the boy’s removal from Hogwarts was a turning point in the Riddle family relationship. Emillie had finally succeeded in landing a spell against her father. Blood dripped from the four-inch long gash that began at the corner of Voldemort’s left eye and ended at his jaw. Father and daughter stared at each other in disbelief. Voldemort’s eyes gleamed with barely contained madness.

            “Have I not taught you respect?” He hissed at her in parsltoung.

            “I would have thought you would be proud father. I am improving.” She hissed back.

            “INSOLENCE!” He shouted and started firing spells at her anew.

Twenty minutes later Voldemort left, Emillie was lying on the floor, blood dripping from several large cuts, her moans and gasps of pain echoed around the room and down the hall. Harry had felt twinges of pain and ran in search of his betrothed. Severus caught sight of the running young man and quickly followed. They found Emillie in her training room, she had been able to prop herself up against a wall, her dark hair falling about her face, hiding a few of the bruises that where there. Severus and Harry rushed forward to tend to the girl.

“Emillie? Em?” Harry whispered worriedly.

“I’m…I’m alright. Nothing too bad.” She whispered back.

“Like hell.” Severus said. “You’re covered with cuts and bruises and your leg is broken. What happened?”

“I landed a curse.” She said simply.

“And he did this?” Harry asked, aghast.

“He said that I didn’t show him respect.”

Severus and Harry stared at the girl dumbfounded. No respect? That was ridiculous. Everyone had assumed that Voldemort had been actually training Emillie and wanted her to improve, not that he was treating her like his personal punching bag.  Severus recovered much faster than Harry did, and went to treating Emillie’s various injuries. Harry stayed crouched by Emillie’s side, holding her hand and running his fingers through her hair in an attempt to comfort the injured girl.

“I’ve done all I can here. Harry, take her to her room. I’ll meet you up there with some supplies.”

“Alright. Come on Em. Lean on me.” Harry said, wrapping his arms under Emillie’s arms, lifting her up, but the moment she put weight onto her legs she cried out in pain, collapsing into Harry. Harry picked her up bridal style and half-way ran from the room with Severus on his tail. 


End file.
